


A Forced Vacation

by Vipersweb (Rhianona)



Series: Ashes in the Fall [6]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Ashes in the Fall, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-21
Updated: 2007-07-21
Packaged: 2017-10-08 20:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhianona/pseuds/Vipersweb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel and Kara head to the mainland for a well-earned vacation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Forced Vacation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Abyssinia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abyssinia/gifts).



Daniel grinned, looking up at Kara as she teased him while throwing to him the fruit they had been sent to collect on the mainland. He could feel the tension that had grown stronger and stronger upon Elizabeth's announcement of extra guests arriving on the _Daedalus_ dissipating as Kara did her best to ensure they both relaxed while they were here. It had been a long while since he had the… _luxury_ to simply relax. When he had first come to Atlantis, he had been hurt, licking emotional wounds that only really good friends or family can inflict. He had buried himself in Atlantis, intent on deciphering the database, restructuring the Anthro-Archeo-Lingo departments so that the expedition could reap the benefits. Later, he had been so excited by what he was translating, so excited at being able to do what he had trained to do, to not be a soldier every time he went through the gate that he had simply engulfed himself in his work.

But now, Elizabeth had all but thrown him off of Atlantis for a forced vacation, even if she had couched it as a request by the cooks to harvest some fruit. Daniel might have been intentionally burying himself in work since her announcement, but he wasn't oblivious to her motives. He suspected Kara had been in on the scheme as well, though he never asked and she never said anything. He didn't doubt that she had been restless and he had definitely seen some of the marines wincing when they saw her in the halls before they left. With half her team laid up, the only one available to spar with her had been Teyla – and Teyla had taken the rare downtime to visit her people.

Despite the ulterior motives behind Elizabeth's request, Daniel couldn't help but be grateful. He and Kara rarely had the opportunity to simply relax with one another and he reveled at the opportunity to do so now.

"Heads up Daniel!" Kara called down to him as she prepared to drop into his arms another bagful of fruit. Her eyes shined with warmth, her hair slipping from the ponytail she had tossed it in this morning. She smirked as he moved quickly to catch the fruit she tossed down to him.

"You know Kara, I think you're getting some type of enjoyment at being able to throw things at me," he complained lightly. She laughed at his aggrieved tone before swinging down from the branch she had been straddling. Hanging from it for a moment, she dropped down, her knees bending as she landed.

"Come on archeo boy," she told him as she helped him bring the fruit to the jumper. "I want to get into the water before it's dark." Grumbling at her demands, Daniel allowed himself to acquiesce. In truth, he looked forward to swimming in the warm water, though half of that enjoyment might be due to his companion. He loved how irreverent she was; in some ways she reminded him of Vala. But Kara also had dimensions to her that the former Goa'uld lacked. They both presented a "devil-may-care" attitude to the world to protect themselves from hurt. They both tried to live life to the fullest. But Kara was more than willing to allow people to get close to her. Vala, not so much. Kara lived each day as if it were her last because she had quite literally been living in a war for the last five years. In that, she was like many of the natives of the Pegasus Galaxy. He thought it might explain why she got along with Ronon and Teyla so well. Like them, she understood that every time she went out on a mission, she might not make it back. Like them, she understood that a person she spoke with, sparred with, drank with, or loved might not make it back through the gate. For all that they've been going through the gate for over a decade, for all that the expedition has been in Atlantis and the Pegasus Galaxy for five years now, Daniel knew that those from Earth still didn't understand the fragility of life. Not like Kara or Ronon or Teyla.

They stored the fruit in containers, loading them into the jumper for transport the next morning before heading to the beach. They had been here for three days, camping on the beach, harvesting the fruit and swimming in the surf each afternoon. Their routine was pretty set. Kara dragged her BDUs off quickly and dove into the water, letting the waves take her out as she swam. Daniel moved slower, carefully setting his boots, his socks, his clothes and his glasses neatly on the sand before wading into the water until it was deep enough for him to float on his back without risk of injury. He would stay there like that until Kara had burned off her energy and joined him in relaxation.

Today was no different; about fifteen minutes after she had entered the water, she announced her presence to Daniel by pulling him under. He choked on the water, not expecting her move, though he really should have by now. "Kara!" he spluttered as they shot to the surface. He could barely make out the smirk that he knew was on her face as she treaded water near him.

"Catch me if you can!" she dared as she dove back into the waves. Growling, he followed her as best he could. They swam, diving into the waves, Kara staying just ahead of him, her body gliding through the water. At last he surged ahead and grabbed her ankle, jerking her to him as he rose to the surface with her in his arms.

"Gotcha!" he told her with a grin as he held her close him. She laughed as she flung her head back with delight.

"Mmm… and what are you going to do with me?" she asked archly.

Daniel just grinned as they bobbed in the waters. He moved his hand to the back of her head, his fingers tangled in the wet strands of her hair. He tilted his head and brought his lips down on hers. Gently at first, his lips molded hers, nipping and tasting her. She met him as his equal, her lips opening under his, letting him in. They bobbed together, the water pulling and pushing them together.

Later as they dried each other off, stealing soft kisses, Daniel reflected on how much Kara had helped to return him to what he had once been. He had not felt this happy, this carefree since Sha're and Abydos. Kara did not simply accept what he said or did; she pressed him and told him –quite loudly – when she didn't agree with his actions. Kara pushed him into enjoying his work, accepted, like Sha're had, when his work kept him from her side for hours or even days. She looked after him – made sure he had his coffee and ate real food rather than simply power bars.

As they lay in each other's arms that night, Kara finally asked him why he had been so upset. He liked that about her. She seemed to instinctively recognize when he was ready to speak about whatever was bothering him. She hadn't bothered him until now, seeming to realize he hadn't been ready to speak. But now, tonight, he rather thought he was ready. And so, he finally voiced the thoughts that had swirled through his head these last weeks.

"Jack, Sam and Teal'c are on the _Daedalus_. They're going to be here for a few months," he told her. She stayed silent. John had mentioned it in passing to her, saying that he wanted her to know why Rodney would be impossible for a while. His crush on Sam Carter had never dissipated and was a source of much amusement among Atlantis' premiere gate team.

"How are you going to handle it?" she asked tentatively after a few moments of silence.

"God Kara. I just don't know," he said. "When I left Earth, I knew I had come close to destroying my remaining ties with them. Not that they were all that strong anymore," he bitterly added.

Kara punched him in the arm, ignoring his "ow." "Daniel, for all that you're a genius you can be so frakking stupid sometimes!" she exclaimed. "They don't hate you or they wouldn't be making the trip here. It's not like this is a great vacation spot. If they wanted to get away from Earth, I'm sure there was a planet they could go to that is a lot more convenient than this one."

"But I've been here for over a year now and they have never sent me a letter or email. Well, Teal'c has and Mitchell. But not Jack or Sam!" he pointed out.

Kara only knew the bare basics of how and why Daniel had left the SGC and from what little she did know, it hadn't been pretty. Daniel had essentially gone behind Jack's back to get the permission to come to Atlantis and Jack had been beyond pissed. Sam had taken Jack's side. The only member from the original SG-1 team that understood why Daniel wanted to transfer to Atlantis had been Teal'c. Daniel had been very hurt by the words he had exchanged with both Jack and Sam. She didn't think he was really over all that had been said.

"I know I don't know them, but I know this. Jack and Sam, they are your family. No Daniel, they are," she told him as he began to shake his head in denial. "Families fight. They also forgive one another. You told me that each of you ripped into one another, flinging the most hurtful things you could at each other. Something like that? It needs a face-to-face apology."

She sighed as Daniel stubbornly shook his head in denial. Daniel was by equal parts sensitive and stubborn. The way he had parted from Jack and Sam had weighed heavily on him since he had arrived. He didn't speak much of it, but from what he had told her, she knew that the words exchanged had hurt him. He also felt guilty for some of what he had yelled back at them. Kara might not know them, but she couldn't think of any other reason for them to come to Atlantis if it were not to try and mend the breach. She knew Daniel missed his friends.

"You should at least hear what they have to say," she urged quietly. He might think that they were not coming here for him, but she was almost certain they were. She also thought it likely that if he failed to listen, he would lose them. She wasn't about to let that happen. She didn't think Daniel realized how much his old team still impacted him. Not a day went by when he did not at least obliquely mention them. Still, she did not want to push him the wrong way and after he failed to respond to her last remark, she stayed silent, merely snuggling closer to him.

Daniel held Kara to him, letting her warmth seep into him. He knew in his heart that she was right but he was afraid. Afraid that once he saw them all that had been said would be repeated and he wasn't sure he could handle it a second time. It had taken a long time for him to recover from the last time. As he held Kara, his mind thinking up and discarding half a dozen scenarios, something struck him.

Unlike the last time he had seen Jack and Sam, he was not alone. He knew that even if without Kara, few on Atlantis would allow them to yell at him. On Earth his team had been his bedrock, his foundation; the harsh words spoken by those who were supposed to understand him had hurt him more than words could describe. And while here on Atlantis, he might not be in the same life and death situations that had forged SG-1, he was somewhat shocked to realize he did have people who would be there for him. Men and women who respected him, who did not expect him to become a soldier, who, in fact, encouraged him to make his own discoveries and celebrated with him when he made a breakthrough. Without even realizing it, he had made a new family. Even if Jack and Sam greeted him with nothing but contempt, Daniel knew that he would not be alone.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he squeezed Kara even closer to him before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Whatever happened tomorrow, he knew that he had her and the rest of Atlantis by his side. If Jack and Sam had expected him to be upset or disconsolate at their arrival, they would learn differently. His breathing slowly evened out and he fell into the first easy sleep he had had in a long time.

As Kara felt the last of the tension leave Daniel, she smiled softly. She had done her job; tomorrow, Daniel would be fine. She silently promised herself to at least greet Daniel's friends with civility. If they frakked with him though… oh yes. She smirked evilly. They would regret doing so. No matter her encouraging words – she would not let them hurt him again.

She snuggled closer to Daniel, tomorrow was another day and she needed to be prepared. Slowly, she drifted to sleep in his arms. Whatever else happened, they had each other.


End file.
